Are circle hooks the only way to go for halibut?

Today is the deadline for submitting proposals for regulatory changes to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

The Seattle-based agency has posted the proposals it has received thus far. Check them out here.

Deckboss finds this one pretty interesting. It would make circle hooks the only legal gear in directed halibut fisheries, including commercial and charter fisheries.

The proposal says in part:

Halibut tend to swallow J hooks which can be impossible to remove without damaging the fish and treble hooks are very difficult to remove from a live fish and tend to catch in the gills and cause heavy bleeding. The circle hook is most likely to hook in the harder parts of the mouth just inside the jaw, cause little bleeding and is easily removed. The purpose of this regulation is to increase survivability among fish that are caught and released for whatever reason.